Lucien nervously kneaded his fingers as he walked through the castle's endless corridors, following the pull of the mate bond one hesitant step at a time.
He didn't notice the soft rustling of climbing vines that covered the stone walls.
Nor the lazy buzzing of bees drifting from blossom to blossom. Nor the deeper hum of bumblebees disappearing into delicate flower cups.
His entire world had narrowed to the corridor ahead.
The fox Beastman barely registered the servants stepping aside to let him pass.
Their polite bows.
Their quiet greetings.
The sympathetic glances that followed him.
By now, the entire castle knew what had happened.
And strangely... Instead of envy, there was pity.
Every Beast male dreamed of finding a female.
Every unmated male envied those fortunate enough to be chosen.
Yet none of them envied Lucien.
Because there were few things crueler than disappointing the female who hadn't marked you.
If Mirabelle truly rejected him...
